This invention primarily relates to a certain type of in-line or linear roller skate, and more particularly to a skate having wheels disposed in an alternating angular array I call a V-line relationship. In accordance with this invention, the wheels are supported by the use of an improved axle arrangement, which axle arrangement is highly advantageous under a number of operating conditions.
Many generations of children and adults alike have enjoyed the pleasures of roller skating, and originally the roller skates they used were of the so-called "quad" type, with each skate having a pair of wheels in the front, and a pair of wheels in the back.
For reasons of increased speed and maneuverability, many skaters have stopped using quad skates, and have gone over to what are variously referred to as linear skates, in-line skates or blade skates, involving a design wherein the ground-contacting portions of the wheels of each skate are disposed along a straight line. Linear or in-line skates have at least three wheels, but may utilize four, five or possibly more wheels, for as a generality, the larger the number of wheels, the smoother the ride.
In-line or linear roller skates of conventional construction normally utilize two or more wheels positioned to rotate within a common vertical plane, and while operating as roller skates, have much of the feel and behavior associated with ice skates. Substantially the same bodily movements are required to operate both ice skates and in-line roller skates, and such roller skates have become increasingly popular with ice skaters as a desirable training tool for off season and on-street use. In recent years, in-line roller skates have been capturing an increasing share of the recreational skate market and in time may parallel or even surpass jogging as a healthy and pleasurable adult sport.
Tandem or in-line skates are well known and appear at least as early as 1876 in U.S. Pat. No. 7,345 of C. W. Saladee, which disclosed a two-wheel in-line model featuring a somewhat complex, spring loaded carriage supporting laterally pivoting rollers for improved maneuverability and even distribution of skater weight. Unfortunately, this early device was heavy, noisy and quite complicated to manufacture and assemble.
In 1946, U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,290 to O. G. Rieske disclosed a heavy metal framed, three-wheel, in-line skate for indoor use which featured an endless, rubberized belt so as to avoid damage to wooden floors. The belt rotated on three pulley-like wheels wherein the intermediate wheel was vertically adjustable to produce a rocking action in a forward or rearward direction which made it easier to steer and maneuver the skate. Vertical adjustment of the intermediate wheel was achieved by a clamping bolt and a system of interlocking teeth and allowed a range of vertical adjustment.
In 1966, G. K. Ware in U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,023 disclosed an in-line skate with thin, rounded wheels which endeavored to simulate the performance of ice skates. The Ware skate utilized a fairly heavy metal frame having front and rear frame members with longitudinally extending and overlapping sections. Three sections had a multiplicity of horizontally arranged axle apertures which permitted positioning of wheel axles in a variety of different locations and provided continuous adjustability of the frame to accommodate a wide variety of boot sizes. The Ware frame also included the positioning of apertures at several elevations at the front and rear of the skate so that the forward and rear wheels could be a higher level than the two intermediate wheels. The Ware frame and variations of it are still in use on currently available in-line roller skates and has been the best all around frame available for such skates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,385 to Scott B. Olson disclosed a hybrid skate combining the desirable features of both ice and roller skates and featured a mounting system which could carry either the traditional ice skating blade or a series of in-line wheels.
The Olson et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,848 entitled "In-Line Roller Skate with Axle Aperture Plugs for Simplified Wheel Installation" and the Hill U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,633 entitled "In-Line Roller Skate Having Easily Replaceable Bearings" each teach a wheel supported by an axle extending between longitudinally extending members, but are entirely silent as to what may be regarded as axle construction of the cantilever type.
My U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,940 entitled "SKATE HAVING ANGULARLY MOUNTED WHEELS", which issued Apr. 19, 1994, taught the use of angularly disposed wheels mounted upon axles supported from a single location, in what may be considered to be a cantilevered arrangement. I had found that use of the wheels disposed in an angularly disposed relationship to the mounting plate as described in this earlier patent not only enabled a user of the skate to achieve improved traction during a turn, but also permitted the wheels to be spaced more closely together along the longitudinal axis of the mounting plate, thus minimizing the length of the skate in a highly desirable manner.
Although several embodiments of angularly placed wheel relationships were set forth in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,940, one of the most important embodiments was the one utilizing a V-line relationship in which the wheels of the skate are disposed on cantilevered axles in an alternating angular relationship. In other words, the wheels are mounted at equal angles to a plane vertical to the mounting plate, but with each succeeding wheel being disposed on the opposite side of the vertical from the preceding wheel.
As will be seen in more detail hereinafter, the present invention is particularly well adapted for use with a skate having wheels disposed in the above-mentioned V-line relationship.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,940, I utilized axles in which each wheel of the skate is held on the cantilevered axle by a nut, by a device known as a lever lock axle, or the like. Neither of these mentioned arrangements has proven to be entirely satisfactory, which has impelled me to investigate improved arrangements for holding each wheel of the skate in an operative relationship to the mounting plate of the skate.
It was in an effort to improve upon these wheel mounting arrangements of the prior art that the present invention was evolved.